If the business plan does not include keeping mission critical software like your mail server up-to-date, whether buying future versions, maintenance, or subscription. Your business plan is severely flawed. It is a cost of doing business just like the internet connection itself.

>So, CGP Is software that is used in a public venue making it exposed to
>hackers.
>That means it needs to be updated to keep from being hacked.
>How do you want to pay for those updates?
>There are several options.
>Buy it once and never update…Get Hacked.
>Buy it once then pay maintenance fees and receive updates.

This was the actual model until now, everyone has made an initial investment
and kept yearly maintenance active which had given upgrade rights.
As a service provider offering services we made our business case off this
model and sell services to end users based on this business case.

>Buy the software on a revolving subscription receiving updates.

When purchased originally this way you plan for it in your business case and
create your offer.
But if your yearly maintenance fee becomes a subscription that is more
expensive your business case may no longer be valid.
You can migrate your customers to another platform or send them a price
increase.... Well you can also eat the difference if possible.

>When Adobe went to a monthly subscription our company was upset with the
>same sort of arguments.
>Truth is, looking historically off keeping Photoshop up-to-date the monthly
>subscripts was far more affordable.
>And Photoshop does not have the public exposure to hackers.

Yes but did you pay maintenance fees to Adobe that gave you upgrade rights?
Normally they made you buy it again or offered a special upgrade price so
it is a little different.
The key is the cost of the subscription.

>The only thing I don’t like in a subscription base model for something as
>mission critical as a mail server is how much grace period before the
>software stops working. In the purchase/maintenance plan >you are still
>running if something happens and you miss the deadline to update. In a
>subscription based scenario you are dead in the water when the subscription
>times out.

Yeah, or if they increase the price or purchasing doesn't send the order
or the license they received because they are on xmas leave...
I don't want to try and get CGP to generate a license on January 1rst ...

Brian

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